Transition from static to dynamic friction in an array of frictional disks

The nature of an instability that controls the transition from static to dynamical friction is studied in the context of an array of frictional disks that are pressed from above on a substrate. In this case the forces are all explicit and Newtonian dynamics can be employed without any phenomenologic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Charan, Harish, Chattoraj, Joyjit, Pica Ciamarra, Massimo, Procaccia, Itamar
Other Authors: School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/138032
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:The nature of an instability that controls the transition from static to dynamical friction is studied in the context of an array of frictional disks that are pressed from above on a substrate. In this case the forces are all explicit and Newtonian dynamics can be employed without any phenomenological assumptions. We show that an oscillatory instability that had been discovered recently is responsible for the transition, allowing individual disks to spontaneously reach the Coulomb limit and slide with dynamic friction. The transparency of the model allows a full understanding of the phenomenon, including the speeds of the waves that travel from the trailing to the leading edge and vice versa.